TVS C O L L E G E C O U N S E L I N G
WITH BOUNDLESS POSSIBILITY, HOW DO YOU CHOOSE? What to do when opportunities abound. STEVI SCHUKNECHT, DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING Imagine walking into a car dealership just before your 16th birthday. But this is not a normal car dealership. You step in and look across acres and acres of cars. Each one is different: different specifications, different prices, and different salespeople representing each of the hundreds of cars vying for your attention. The options stretch out before you, and the details feel overwhelming. For one, you are not sure how cars even work, so all the promises you hear do not mean much. There are prices on each car, but on your way in, the greeter tells you that they are mostly arbitrary. No one pays the posted prices. And, as you are trying to read materials and listen to sales representatives, several friends and relatives are texting and calling to give you their opinions. You decide you are interested in sports cars with fast engines, especially red ones. Your mom worries about the safety of a fast car and is steering you toward larger SUVs. Your dad keeps trying to show you a minivan (minivan?!?) that he thinks is a more practical choice–after all, you have siblings. Finally, one of the sales floor attendants asks you what you are looking for, and you freeze. “What type of car will meet all your needs and help you accomplish your goals?” And you realize you aren’t sure, especially since you haven’t driven at all. How does one decide when the opportunities are endless?
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TRINITY VALLEY SCHOOL
Now, imagine the cars are booths at a college fair, and you may begin to feel the overwhelm that many high school sophomores and juniors share as they encounter the host of options that exist for them after graduation. They stroll past table after table, hearing admissions professionals talk about the attractive options but not understanding fully which options may be significant to them. After all, they have never tried college before, and no one is allowing a test drive (at least not a real one). So, how does one decide when the possibilities are actually boundless? Boundless possibilities are both a fantastic reality and a real problem for many high school students. Even though opportunities seem limitless, each student can only choose one path, be it college, a gap year, or something else. For most TVS students, college is the next step. Still, there are almost 3,000 fouryear colleges and universities in the United States alone, and many of our students also look beyond our borders at other options abroad. Choosing any one path means choosing NOT to pursue all the others. It can feel overwhelming, especially when the decision has great implications on almost every facet of their lives for several years. What should a student with boundless possibilities do to narrow it down and ultimately decide which opportunity to pursue?
